Wall Street to open on an uneven footing as consumer data awaited

Wall Street is set for a fairly steady start after more record highs on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open 58 points or 0.15% higher, while the other two main indices are flat to marginally negative.

Following last week’s news the major banks had successfully passed the Federal Reserve’s latest stress tests, many of them have said they will boost their quarterly dividend payments.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is the latest, and has seen its shares climb more than 3% in pre-market trading as a result.

On the data front, there are June’s US consumer confidence figures due later (although Friday’s non-farm payroll numbers are likely to be the focus of most attention).

On the confidence data, Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said: “[This] has seen quite a rebound in the last few months, from lows of 88.9 at the beginning of the year to 117.5 in April in the aftermath of the March stimulus payments that arrived on US doormats in April. While the recovery in sentiment has been impressive it is only being intermittently reflected in consumer spending with retail sales underperforming in May, declining 1.3%, though we did see some improvements in March and April of 10.7% and 0.9%.

“Nonetheless while the US economy is improving, sentiment still appears to be fragile, with rising gasoline prices acting as a brake on demand due to supply disruptions, while rising prices in other areas of the economy may well also be affecting demand.

“Expectations are for consumer confidence in June to rise to 119, from 117.2.”

Four things to watch for on Tuesday:

• Companies in the earnings diary include financial data firm FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSE:FDS), defence contractor AeroVironment Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) and mining firm NovaGold Resources Inc (NYSEAMERICAN:NG)
• United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) could draw attention after the carrier unveiled plans to purchase 270 new Boeing and Airbus aircraft in its largest-ever order
• Bitcoin could also be in focus following news that Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has filed paperwork with the SEC for a Bitcoin ETF
• On the macro front, there is little else in the calendar for Tuesday aside from US house price data, however, some may be interested in a speech from European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde

Story by ProactiveInvestors